ACTA Remains Frozen

15. 03. 2012

ACTA Remains Frozen

The opposition Positive Slovenia (PS) had proposed that the government submit an act on the ratification of ACTA to parliament.

Since all parties oppose the agreement in principle, the presumable no-vote would kill the deal for good. However, the government side argued that it would be best to wait for things to unravel at EU level. It is more appropriate to wait for the outcome of debates in the EU, including an opinion by the EU Court, said Vinka Soljančič, the head of the Internal Market Directorate.

By the summer there will be more information on the basis of which Slovenia can decide how to proceed. Moreover, the government is expected to adopt a formal decree freezing the ratification procedure, Soljančič said. "If I understand correctly, we are all against but we do not wish to vote on that," noted PS deputy Roman Jakič, the head of the EU Affairs Committee. Shedding light on the government's refusal to endorse the PS proposal, Democrat (SDS) deputy Jožef Jerovšek said proposing the act would give the opposition a "political weapon for criticising the government for having adopted the ratification act".